Modi magic fading? United Opposition must not ignore BJP's 2 key advantages

A resurgent and united Opposition dealt another blow to the PM Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), defeating it in electorally-crucial Uttar Pradesh's Kairana and Noorpur bypolls, whose results were announced on Thursday. BJP's defeat in Kairana, in particular, was seen as a successful test case for Opposition unity ahead of the 2019 general elections. However, the Congress and other opposition parties must not ignore the advantages the saffron party still enjoys going into the Lok Sabha polls.

The BJP and its allies could only win three of the 14 seats up for grabs in the recent bypolls. Out of the four Lok Sabha seats in play, BJP won only in Maharashtra's Palghar, while the BJP-NDPP alliance won in Nagaland. The saffron party lost in Kairana and Maharashtra's Bhandara-Gondia. Among the Legislative Assembly seats that saw bypolls, the BJP only won in Uttarakhand's Tharali. The saffron party's ally, the Nitish Kumar-led Janata Dal (United), lost Bihar's Jokihat to the Rashtriya Janata Dal.

The BJP, for its part, has played down the outcome of the bypolls and asserted that the party will win the 2019 elections. The saffron party also has two key things going for it: